Luck Isn't My Mistress
by howlinginside
Summary: "He gave the alpha command and we all rushed forward, to our deaths, just as he intended." He gasped, "How'd you survive?" I laughed. "Luck." OC Warning! Rated M for reasons.
1. Prologue

I know, yet another story, sorry. This randomly popped into my head and wouldn't go away until I wrote it down.

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Never had I ever accounted that one of us, one of my own people, would be able to betray us all. We use to all be close, tight knit, a family, and we were the only ones we had. We all had come from different tribes, different clans, different family lines, but we worked well together. There was Molly, she was a horse, but much larger, much stronger, much faster. She could carry the other five of us. Then there was Will, he was an eagle and strong, but much larger and fierce. He could pick up a person and fly away without a second thought. We also had Jane and Jaime, the twins. They were both panthers the size of a horse, and deadly. They worked in perfect sync, and made a formidable enemy. Finally there was our leader, Arnold. He was a wolf, just as big, if not bigger than the twins and he had become our alpha. We might not have all been wolves, but what we had was our pack, our family. We all shared the link shifters had, which had made Arnold's betrayal that surprising. I guess I had felt that because we were both wolves, he could always be trusted.

Never had I been more wrong.

Arnold said he had picked up the scent, the sick, sweet scent that created bile in all of our throats. We all had waited and he gave the alpha command to attack. It was strange, but none of us questioned it. Usually we planned beforehand, slapped some type of strategy together, then attacked.

As well all ran into battle, he showed us his true colors, and smiled evilly as we couldn't stop. He knew we couldn't stop, and he had no feel of remorse. We charged forward, our thoughts of home running through our heads, and the tears fell like acid down our cheeks as we charged forward, diving into the vampires and viciously tearing them apart, or trying to.

I had no idea how I survived. I chalked it up to luck being on my side. Rather than deal with Arnold after the attack, I ran as fast as my legs dared to take me. I had run for days on end, no food, no stop, no break. I stopped when my body finally gave out on me and I prayed to the Morning Star and Evening Star to take me back to the stars, to let me rest and to let me forget the day had ever happened.

Luck wouldn't let me, though. Luck seemed to have the horrible persistence when it came to me and continuing my existence. I downright loathed it.

I had been found by a nice couple. They were a bit older and had children who took to me. They figured me some freak of nature, but they accepted me. They called me Moon, which I found ironic. The kids said it was because my fur was as white as snow, and it reminded them of a full moon. I never bothered to correct them, I just lived a leisurely life of being a house pet.

Sadly, an animal of my size needed a lot to eat and they couldn't keep the payments up for me. I had watched the children grow from toddlers to teenagers and they tearfully said their farewells. They had gotten me a custom collar that had a moon on it with my tags. I had ripped them off a long time ago. It was heart wrenching to do it, and in my human form everything felt weird, unnatural. I got rid of it, but I kept the name, well, a variation of the name. Luna. It was cliche, but it paid homage to the family that had accepted me.

Without that family I began to run again, I was so sure I could forget the part of me that formed coherent thought. That eventually, somehow, someway, I could get rid of the part of me that was human and just run wild, run free, to truly be a wolf.

It never happened. Somehow I had accepted that from the beginning, but I never wanted to admit it. I just wanted to forget, I just wanted to live without the constant aching in my chest from the family I lost. No, the families I had lost.

My running had brought me across the country. I nearly laughed at the recorded sightings of me. Who would honestly believe someone who said a pure white wolf, the size of a horse, had been in Nevada? California? It was ridiculous. I continued running for the sake of running and hadn't planned on stopping.

It wasn't until I had come to La Push, Washington that my will to even phase had come back, and it wasn't by my choice, either.


	2. Chapter 1

Just to clarify; this story is going on the idea that Jacob had never imprinted on Nessie, that after everything was over he ran off to try and become a real wolf, like he'd done once before.

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I had thought I'd managed to get rid of what made me human. My mind concentrated on sights and sounds and basic needs and nothing else. But once in a while flashes of memory would come back. Some of a horse, others of an eagle, occasionally of a pair of panthers, and finally a wolf that brought forth memories of anger. Whenever these memories came, I ran harder and faster until my body gave out, which was something that had become a habit of mine. It was also how I managed to end up in La Push, Washington.

I hadn't intended on stopping near there, not when the scent of wolf was so heavy in the air. I hadn't been thinking straight, I just ran within the trees until I tripped upon a fallen tree and landed on my back. I simply remained there, trying to ignore the pain and the burning within my lungs. My thoughts only screamed out, "Survive!" But try as I might, I was stuck where I was. I had shifted between consciousness and unconsciousness before noticing movement on just the outer edge of my blurry vision. I heard the growling and snarling and hadn't made any attempt to move from my spot.

Slowly and carefully, a black wolf had made its way into my vision. I could barely notice his presence until he sat down in front of my lying form. Soon, two wolves (one was silver, the other was dark brown) had joined the black wolf. They had once been snarling before realizing my state of health. I knew I was skinny, that I looked horrible. I could only imagine the dirt and blood in my fur, plus the amount of twigs within it. I knew I looked ill, that I could possibly die at any point, and part of me wanted to.

However, my request was not answered as the black wolf bit at the scruff in my neck and began dragging me. Through this connection, I could hear his thoughts, but not the thoughts of the other wolves.

_I don't think this is a shape shifter, guys. She has basic thoughts. I only see what she's seeing, and the feelings of hunger and self preservation. Other than that, nothing._

I almost wanted to laugh at the assumption, but refrained from doing so. He was better off thinking I was just some over sized wolf than another shape shifter.

_She also has a collar. I wonder if there are any tags for her? … I have no idea if she's a pet or not, I just feel the collar in my mouth. … Yes, I'm sure she's not a shape shifter, she's just a big wolf. … I have no idea how I know it's a girl, but under all of the mud and blood her scent seems feminine. … I'm going to bring her back toward Emily and I's place. She needs food and to be cleaned off. No animal deserves to be in this condition, especially not if we can help her._

I would have shaken my head, but instead I let my body be dragged towards a somewhat open field of grass. The three quickly shifted back to being human and put some pants on. I simply lay there, wanting to drift off, only to be woken up by a young woman with a scarred face placing a plate of semi-raw food in front of my face. I rolled onto my stomach and sniffed the food. It was raw hamburger, which I wouldn't have wanted, but I was supposed to be a wolf now. I licked at the meat and dug in viciously. I was hungry and had fallen to lower standards before. I had eaten deer raw, and nothing was as bad as that could be.

The woman seemed to be frowning at me as I finished my meal, my ears flicking back as she reached out to rub the shaggy fur on my head. "You poor thing. Who could let you get this bad in shape?" She asked as she leaned over to grip the collar I wore. She unclipped it, causing me to growl. I didn't want my collar taken from me. "Don't worry, I'm just taking it off so it doesn't get ruined when we wash you off." She explained as I relaxed and nodded my head. She didn't seem phased by it, though she stared at me pointedly. "I swore Sam told me you weren't a shifter." She pressed her lips together before a child's cry rang out through the field. She gasped and stared towards me before running back inside. Soon enough, the one she had called Sam came back out, dragging a hose behind him.

I lifted myself up, feeling a bit shaky as he began the tedious process of washing my fur. By the time he was done my fur no longer had the stench of blood and mud and all of the twigs had been pulled from my fur. My fur went from being a murky brown to a pale cream color with splashes of reddish brown here and there. I also enjoyed the fact I didn't feel as heavy now that my fur was cleared up, but it also showed how skinny I really was. The man helping me continued to look at me with pity and patted my side gently. "I'll go get your collar. We couldn't find any tags, though." He sighed as he headed back inside and walked back out with a thin strip of black cloth and clipped it back around my neck. "You should rest now." He mumbled before stepping back inside. I eagerly listened to him and laid down, allowing myself to fall back asleep. As nice as these people were, I knew I was going to have to leave soon before they caught on, if they hadn't caught on already.

I was woken up by an angry growl and a rough nudge to my side. I snapped upwards, growling at the animal that dared to wake me before realizing it was the black wolf- Sam.

_I know what you are, explain to me why you haven't phased back!_ His voice bellowed into my head as I sighed and sat down, my ears flicking back against my skull.

_It'd be easier to show you._ I answered back carefully as Sam sat down and stared at me pointedly. I slid my eyes shut and concentrated on everything that had happened. By the time I finished he was staring at me strangely, but he seemed to understand.

_We have one of our own who tried doing what you did. How did you accomplish it?_ His voice sounded concerned as I huffed and laid down again.

_Many, many years of practice. It's impossible to make the human side go away. I tried to join an actual wolf pack. I outlived them. So I stuck to running._ I frowned as Sam had nodded and looked back towards his home.

_If you'd like to shift, there are clothes for you to wear._ He offered as I stared over at his home and frowned.

_It's been so long, I don't know if I can shift back._ I grumble out as Sam shook his head, I could feel the anger rolling off of him, but couldn't place why.

_I need you to shift back, if you need help, that's fine, but I need to justify why you're here to the elders of my tribe._ Sam explained as I sighed and nodded. He trotted off, presumably to phase back into his human form, leaving me to try and concentrate on shifting back to my human form, which was something I hadn't done for years.

Slowly the world around me grew larger as my form grew smaller. I hadn't realized how odd it was to be back in my human form. It was a foreign feeling. I imagine this is what a baby would feel like after it begins to learn to walk when all it had done was crawl. However, I couldn't stand, instead I was stuck laying within the grassy field, completely bare to the world around me. I was neither cold, nor warm, and I had no idea what the meaning of "bashful" was, nor the meaning of "modesty."

Thankfully, the woman from earlier came back out and helped me into an oversized t-shirt that smelled vaguely of soap and Sam, along with a pair of sweats that smelled heavily of the woman next to me. Once I was dressed, Sam came back out to bring me inside of his home. He set me on the couch, his expression one of confusion as I laid there and stared ahead. I slowly realized that I hadn't been in my human form for so long that talking was actually turning out to be quite a feat.

"What brought you to my pack's territory?" His voice was strong, just as I remembered when I heard it within my mind. "Run." I blinked at my raspy voice, frowning as I tried to think of what I was trying to say. I knew the words, I could see them in my head, but I couldn't speak them and it was frustrating. "Tired." I added as Sam frowned, then nodded. Thankfully, it seemed he understood that I had been running and grew tired. "Fainted." I finished as he nodded again and sighed. His attention shifted from me as another cry rang through the air. "Baby?" I blinked at my one worded question as Sam nodded and chuckled. "Yeah, Emily is my imprint, she had the kids three months ago, actually." Sam smiled fondly and I found myself happy for him.

"So let me get this straight. You ran from your tribe many years ago. After that you came by another pack, the horse, the eagle, the panthers, and the other wolf, right?" He stared at me as I nodded slowly. "And the other wolf betrayed all of you, and had you all charge to your deaths because he had made a pact with those vampires?" He bit out angrily as I nodded. That was how I had remembered things, anyway. "So, you didn't want to deal with that and have been running ever since, only stopping in an attempt to join an actual wolf pack? Then you happened to run by here, and given your state of being, passed out, which is how we found you?" He finished as I nodded and frowned. "I see. I need to go talk to the elders. If you need help, Emily is nearby, but if she's busy with the kids, one of my pack members will help you." He offered as I nodded and curled up on the couch. I was still tired, I wanted to sleep some more.

Sam had left, and sadly I was not able to sleep as the smell of feces invaded my senses before another cry rang out through the air. I frowned at the annoyances of children before wobbly pushing myself onto my legs. Sam and Emily had been kind enough to help me, it only made sense to return the favor. I carefully placed one foot in front of the other, before coming across a stressed out Emily. I sighed and walked over towards the baby who had made itself. I quickly cleaned the child up and learned that it was a girl named Samantha, and her twin was a boy named Eric. Once Samantha was cleaned I grabbed a bottle and began to help her while Emily quietly thanked me and kept her attention on Eric.

It was odd to deal with a child infant, as they were small and defenseless for a lot longer than a wolf pup might be. Emily seemed to trust me with the infant, so to get away from the stuffy room that reeked of children, formula, and chemicals, I stepped outside and onto the porch. Samantha was happy to curl against my warm body, murmuring happily before drifting off. I could only shake my head as I sat upon the porch, keeping the small child warm within my arms. I had barely noticed the additional smell of wolf until I stared upwards, Samantha's frustrated cry breaking my reverie. Before me stood a large rust colored wolf, his eyes angry and confused as he stared at me with his friend's child. I peered down at Samantha and frowned, keeping her close to my warm body. Had someone else come along, they probably would have figured me the mother to the baby girl. We shared similar bronzed skin tones and black hair, but our similarities ended there. Her eyes were a warm, honey brown, whereas mine were a stormy grey-yellow color.

My attention to the child was stolen by the wolf giving an angry growl. I lifted my hand towards him, palm facing outwards in a small attempt to show that I wasn't an enemy. He took a sharp intake of air before sitting down and glaring at me with the child. I ignored his gaze, refusing to make eye contact for it could be the death of me if I had. Partially because I knew what the tugging pull that I felt in my chest was and I wasn't about to let that control me. That and the male was obviously an alpha, and I was not going to test my luck by staring into his eyes. I was not going to test his dominance.

I noticed the rust wolf darted out of my vision, allowing my body to relax as the baby Samantha fell back into a calm sleep. I was happy to learn I was out of trouble, until a man dressed in tattered shorts ran up onto the porch of Sam and Emily's home. "Who are you and why are you holding Emily's child?" He snapped, his voice husky and strong. The very sound of it sent chills down my spine as the hairs on the back of my neck prickled upwards. "Friend." I rasped out, ashamed that my voice was not dainty and clear like Emily's. "I need more than a one word answer! Answer me!" The male bellowed before Emily ran to my position, a glare fixed on her face as she stared at the male, her expression angry.

"Jacob, calm down! Sam, Paul, and Jared found her in the forest. She's not in good health so Sam and I are watching over her, and keep it down, Samantha is sleeping." Emily snapped at him before taking the infant from my arms. I felt what I'd say was a severed feeling within my chest as the child was stolen from me by her mother. I frowned and stared at the floor below, trying to ignore the stares I was receiving from the two. I doubt they could understand my attachment to young creatures. They were like I was, giving unconditional love in return for practically nothing. My hands reached and grabbed at the collar fixed around my neck. Reluctantly I stared up towards Emily, only to have my gaze stolen by the male.

What had once worried me faded as the male became the focal point of my gaze. He seemed shocked at my stare. I gazed at him with adoration, the feeling bubbling deep in my chest feeling like nothing I had felt before. The man sat down across from me, his eyes fixed with a hateful glare, but there was no merit behind it. He was angry, but not at me. He was disappointed, but not because of me. He hadn't expected this, while I had. I could only give him a sympathetic smile as I reached out to touch his face, only to have him flinch back and snarl at me. "What's your name?" He had demanded, but he didn't need to. I would give him whatever he asked of me. "Luna." I rasped out softly as he nodded and stood up once he heard the approach of Sam and two others.

"Jacob, you're back." The statement had sounded more like a question as a man from a wheelchair pushed himself forward eagerly. As soon as he could, he wrapped his arms around the younger male. They both looked so similar and it reminded me of a father and son meeting after being distant from each other for a long period of time. "I had thought you were gone for good this time around." The man muttered before wheeling himself backwards. He looked towards me, his expression perplexed. I still remained sitting on the wood of the porch, my gaze vacant and my expression bland.

"So this is the shape shifter you told me about?" The man hummed with thought as he stared at me carefully. His lips pressed together as he thought, making sure to stare at my features before his gaze found my collar. "You said she had come from another wolf-shifting tribe and found another pack with an eagle, panthers, a horse, and another wolf?" The man stated his question simply, his gaze staring towards his son, then back to me. "And she had been a pet, as well as living with actual wolves, then?" He sighed and looked at me curiously. "She's been through a lot. I say we allow her passage on our lands until she is healthy, and if she feels the need to leave, then she should be able to, just so long as she pays homage to our treaty with the Cullens." At the mention of the strange family, Jacob had tensed, causing me to frown.

"What did you say your name was?" He had asked as I stared at Jacob, distressed by his uncomfortable expression. "Her name is Luna." I smiled as Jacob nodded towards me and offered me a hand. He pulled me upwards and stared down towards his father with an angry expression. "I imprinted on her, as well." Jacob explained, and while I'd expected his father to perhaps grow angry, he did the opposite. Instead he smiled, his eyes twinkling with sheer joy as he stared at me. "I'm so glad to hear that." The man breathed out a sigh as I quickly inhaled, unaware I'd been holding my breath.


End file.
